Creating Your Own Web Pages from Scratch

Despite the availability of Web publishing software such as FrontPage and PageMill, it's useful to know how HTML coding works because such knowledge gives you greater control of your page. That's why these five pages teach you to use HTML (hypertext markup language; the language used to format Web pages) to create Web pages from scratch.

Of course, there's a lot you could know about Web page design, but fortunately there's only a little bit that you must know in order to create basic, functional pages. This handout gives you enough information to create a Web page that's viewable through Web browsers such as Netscape or Internet Explorer. It does this by

explaining the basics of HTML
describing seven initial steps in Web page design
offering a list of basic codes to help you format your first Web page
listing a few additional resources on Web design

Before getting started, though, keep several things in mind about this handout. First, it only gives you enough to get started. You can create functional pages with the code presented here. If, however, you want to learn more, take a look at some of the resources listed in Additional Resources. Second, all references to coding are presented in Courier font so you can easily identify what you need to type.

last revised 04.04.00